London, April 13th (Argus) - Element 25, a metal producer based in Australia, has raised $18 million in equity from investors to fund the expansion of its Butcherbird manganese mine.
This expansion is expected to double the manganese concentrate production of Butcherbird from 365,000 tons per year to 1.1 million tons per year. It is anticipated that the full equipment construction and commissioning of the site will be completed in the first quarter of 2027.
The Western Australian state government approved the expansion project in March 2025. The company stated that Butcherbird is expected to operate for at least 18 years.
The manganese concentrate produced by this factory will mainly be used as raw material for Element 25's battery-grade high-purity manganese sulfate one-water treatment facility, which is currently under construction in Louisiana, USA. In January last year, the US government provided a grant of $166 million to support the $13.5 million per year Louisiana refining plant project. The company will sell the excess concentrate to steel manufacturers, who use manganese to enhance the performance of steel.
The Australian government also provided a loan program of 50 million Australian dollars (equivalent to 32 million US dollars) in June to support the expansion of this project.
